Data storage devices such as disk drives comprise a disk and a head connected to a distal end of an actuator arm which is rotated about a pivot by a voice coil motor (VCM) to position the head radially over the disk. The disk comprises a plurality of radially spaced, concentric tracks for recording user data sectors and servo sectors. The servo sectors comprise head positioning information (e.g., a track address) which is read by the head and processed by a servo control system to control the actuator arm as it seeks from track to track.
Data is typically written to data sectors within a data track by modulating the write current of a write element, for example, using a non-return to zero (NRZ) encoding where a binary “1” is written using positive write current (+1) and a binary “0” is written using a negative write current (−1), thereby writing magnetic transitions onto the disk surface. A read element (e.g., a magnetoresistive (MR) element) is then used to transduce the magnetic transitions into a read signal that is demodulated by a read channel. The recording and reproduction process may be considered a communication channel, wherein communication demodulation techniques may be employed to demodulate the read signal.